Báo cáo y học: "Staffing level: a determinant of late-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia"

Chia sẻ: Nguyễn Ngọc Tuyết Lê Lê | Ngày: | Loại File: PDF | Số trang:3

Thêm vào BST

Báo xấu

107
lượt xem 3
download

Download Vui lòng tải xuống để xem tài liệu đầy đủ

Tham khảo luận văn - đề án 'báo cáo y học: "staffing level: a determinant of late-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia"', luận văn - báo cáo phục vụ nhu cầu học tập, nghiên cứu và làm việc hiệu quả

Chủ đề:

Bình luận(0) Đăng nhập để gửi bình luận!

Lưu

Nội dung Text: Báo cáo y học: "Staffing level: a determinant of late-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia"

Available online http://ccforum.com/content/11/4/154 Commentary Staffing level: a determinant of late-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia Jeannie P Cimiotti University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Center for Health Outcomes and Policy Research, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104-6096, USA Corresponding author: Jeannie P Cimiotti, jcimiott@nursing.upenn.edu Published: 8 August 2007 Critical Care 2007, 11:154 (doi:10.1186/cc6085) This article is online at http://ccforum.com/content/11/4/154 © 2007 BioMed Central Ltd See related research by Hugonnet et al., http://ccforum.com/content/11/4/R80 Abstract measures, such as the presence or absence of mouth care [5,6], which is a potential risk factor for VAP. In addition, I am A body of knowledge exists to suggest an association between surprised that the authors did not include hand hygiene as a nurse staffing and adverse patient outcomes. Hugonnet and risk factor of interest, because there is a well established link colleagues add further evidence by linking nurse staffing to late- onset ventilator-associated pneumonia. Discussed are a number of between hand hygiene and health care associated infections, concerns surrounding the analytic component of this study, and one that the authors have worked with extensively [7,8]. including the construction of variables and the statistical models. The authors’ estimation that hospitals maintaining a nurse-to- The authors painstakingly constructed a comprehensive risk patient ratio above 2.2 could decrease the risk of health care adjustment model that includes, but is not limited, to the associated infections is based on findings that are potentially Charlson comorbidity index [9], the Acute Physiology and biased and unrealistic. Chronic Health Evaluation II score [10], and the Projet de Hugonnet and colleagues [1] present an interesting article on Recherché en Nursing acuity score. I am concerned, nurse staffing and ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP). however, that these measures overlap and, although not Although this study joins a number of other studies on nurse mentioned, I hope that the authors verified that there were no staffing and adverse outcomes of hospitalized patients, I feel issues with collinearity. The Cox hazards model is an compelled to address several important limitations of this appropriate choice when measuring time to VAP, but I have a study. What I find disappointing is the fact that these authors few concerns surrounding the method of censoring and describe an observational study in which I expect they had an construction of the variables that are time dependent. I can opportunity to add something substantial to the body of understand the exposure period for the nurse staffing literature on nurse staffing and adverse health care related variable, but I think it best to construct all other of the time- outcomes, but failed to do so. dependent variables as days from admission to censoring. As for censoring, I also do not agree with censoring 5 days post- There is sufficient evidence in the literature to suggest that extubation. The authors’ choice of censoring prohibits taking nurse staffing is significantly associated with health care into account the patients who might well have experienced associated infections [2-4], but we lack data on the process respiratory compromise and required re-intubation. Because of nursing care that may very well inform us as to why this the extubated patients were censored (removed from the staffing association exists. The authors do state that some of analytic model) on day 5 after extubation, these patients are the process of care measures were not consistently no longer included in the sample for analytic purposes, even recorded, but they do not state that all of those measures though they are still presumably at risk for VAP. were missing. Because these data on the process of care are of such importance, I would hope that the authors considered What I found most troublesome with this analysis is how the a method of imputation before making the decision to authors computed what they refer to as the risk factor of eliminate these data from the analysis. They control for central interest, namely nurse staffing. They refer in the text to the venous, peripheral, and urinary catheters, but it would have nurse staffing per shift, and in fact they provide the median been of great value to include data on nurse process of care nurse-to-patient ratio for the morning, evening, and night VAP = ventilator-associated pneumonia. Page 1 of 3 (page number not for citation purposes)
Critical Care Vol 11 No 4 Cimiotti shifts as 0.8, 0.6, and 0.6, respectively. However, in the final to-patient ratio above 2.2 could decrease the risk of health hazard models nurse staffing is computed as the total number care associated infections is based on findings that are of nurses working in a 24-hour day divided by the patient potentially biased and unrealistic. census. Such a computation inflates the nurse-to-patient ratio, as indicated by the fact the median daily ratio ranged Even though Hugonnet and colleagues provide what I from 1.4 to 5.3 nurses per patient. Nurse staffing has been consider to be suboptimal estimates of nurse-to-patient ratio, computed differently in a number of studies in the literature, I applaud their attempt to forge along the causal pathway that such as full-time equivalent registered nurses per adjusted links nurse staffing to health care associated infections in an inpatient day [11], registered nurse hours per adjusted attempt to improve the quality of patient care. inpatient day [12], and nurse-to-patient ratio [13]; although these computations differ, the final recommendations make Competing interests some sense from an administrative point of view. The estimation by the authors that hospitals maintaining a nurse- The author declares that they have no competing interests. Authors’ response Stéphane Hugonnet We thank Cimiotti for her detailed commentary on our study We agree with Cimiotti that the risk factor analysis for VAP is [1] and focus on the few relevant criticisms she makes in our not straightforward. Because we investigated only VAP, the response. analysis of time or time at risk cannot start before initiation of mechanical ventilation, and precisely how long a patient Although knowledge in this field is still partial and further remains at risk after extubation is unknown. We agree that research is required [14], our study adds to the increasing 5 days is an arbitrary cut-off value, but it seems very evidence in the literature that adequate staffing is a reasonable to assume that a pneumonia developing 7 days prerequisite for patient safety. It provides additional data on after extubation is unrelated to mechanical ventilation, as long the epidemiology of VAP; few studies have investigated the as there is no intervening re-intubation. Of note, a patient who association between workload and pneumonia [15,16], and was extubated and re-intubated 3 days later was still in the at- none have specifically focused on late-onset VAP. risk period and included in the analysis. The optimal method with which to estimate how much time We agree that the process of care is an important issue, but and care each patient received in order to derive some sort of lies in the causal pathway between workload and infection. an ‘offer/demand’ ratio would be to measure it individually, However, the priority is surely not to demonstrate that busy but this is unrealistic. Computing a workload measure per health care workers do not fully comply with infection control shift or over 24 hours does not make any difference, as recommendations, but rather to improve the process of care, explained in our report. Neither is there any fundamental define adequate staffing levels, and refine statistical and difference between measuring nurse-to-patient ratio, full-time mathematical techniques in risk factor analysis [14,17]. equivalent nurses, or number of nurse hours per patient. These details should not blur what is by far the main problem; these measures are all of an ecological nature [3,12,17] and this is seldom acknowledged. References 1. Hugonnet S, Uckay I, Pittet D: Staffing level: a determinant of Epidemiol 1999, 20:598-603. late-onset ventilator-associated pneumonia. Crit Care 2007, 5. Fourrier F, Duvivier B, Boutigny H, Roussel-Delvallez M, Chopin C: 11:R80. Colonization of dental plaque: a source of nosocomial infec- 2. Alonso-Echanove J, Edwards JR, Richards MJ, Brennan P, tions in intensive care unit patients. Crit Care Med 1998, 26: Venezia RA, Keen J, Ashline V, Kirkland K, Chou E, Hupert M, et 301-308. al.: Effect of nurse staffing and antimicrobial-impregnated 6. Mori H, Hirasawa H, Oda S, Shiga H, Matsuda K, Nakamura M: central venous catheters on the risk for bloodstream infec- Oral care reduces incidence of ventilator-associated pneumo- tions in intensive care units. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol nia in ICU populations. Intensive Care Med 2006, 32:230-236. 2003, 24:916-925. 7. Pittet D, Dharan S, Touveneau S, Sauvan V, Perneger TV: Bacter- 3. Cimiotti JP, Haas J, Saiman L, Larson EL: Impact of staffing on ial contamination of the hands of hospital staff during routine bloodstream infections in the neonatal intensive care unit. patient care. Arch Intern Med 1999, 159:821-826. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2006, 160:832-836. 8. Pittet D, Kramer A, Hugonnet S: Alcohol-based hand gels and 4. Harbarth S, Sudre P, Sudre, Dharan S, Cadenas M, Pittet D: Out- hand hygiene in hospitals. Hand hygiene revisited: lessons break of Enterobacter cloacae related to understaffing, over- from the past and present. Lancet 2002, 360:1511. crowding, and poor hygiene practices. Infect Control Hosp 9. Charlson ME, Pompei P, Ales KL, MacKenzie CR: A new method Page 2 of 3 (page number not for citation purposes)
Available online http://ccforum.com/content/11/4/154 of classifying prognostic comorbidity in longitudinal studies: development and validation. J Chronic Dis 1987, 40:373-383. 10. Knaus WA, Draper EA, Wagner DP, Zimmerman JE: APACHE II: a severity of disease classification system. Crit Care Med 1985, 13:818-829. 11. Kovner C, Gergen PJ: Nurse staffing levels and adverse events following surgery in U.S. hospitals. Image J Nurs Sch 1998, 30: 315-321. 12. Needleman J, Buerhaus P, Mattke S, Stewart M, Zelevinsky K: Nurse-staffing levels and the quality of care in hospitals. N Engl J Med 2002, 346:1715-1722. 13. Aiken LH, Clarke SP, Sloane DM, Sochalski J, Silber JH: Hospital nurse staffing and patient mortality, nurse burnout, and job dissatisfaction. JAMA 2002, 288:1987-1993. 14. Assadian O, Toma CD, Rowley SD: Implications of staffing ratios and workload limitations on healthcare-associated infections and the quality of patient care. Crit Care Med 2007, 35:296-298. 15. Amaravadi RK, Dimick JB, Pronovost PJ, Lipsett PA: ICU nurse- to-patient ratio is associated with complications and resource use after esophagectomy. Intensive Care Med 2000, 26:1857- 1862. 16. Dimick JB, Swoboda SM, Pronovost PJ, Lipsett PA: Effect of nurse-to-patient ratio in the intensive care unit on pulmonary complications and resource use after hepatectomy. Am J Crit Care 2001, 10:376-382. 17. Grundmann H, Hori S, Winter B, Tami A, Austin D: Risk factors for the transmission of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in an adult intensive care unit: fitting a model to the data. J Infect Dis 2002, 185:481-488. Page 3 of 3 (page number not for citation purposes)